Though the economic downturn of the early 80s, and the era of essential commodities was frustrating the average Nigerian, the staff of Total were quick to spot the opportunities in the prevalent nationwide economic recession. They quickly mobilized for communal economics, a situation where they agreed to come together for bulk purchase of essential commodities at reasonable prices for distribution to members.

That was the beginning of the movement called the cooperative society today in EPNL. The nucleus of activity started from the mail room but the idea of coming together was later shared with other staff members who all agreed to form a cooperative society with a membership fee of N20.00.

Operations in the cooperative started on June 6, 1984 but the process of registration began on 28th June 1987 when a formal application was made to the Lagos State Government. The body was eventually registered with certificate number LSCS 589 dated March 24, 1988.

Currently, the institution caters to over 1,427 members with total assets to the tune of over N32.8billion (as at end of December 2017) with business segments in banking (savings contribution and loans to its members) and real estate business segment. Our Profit After Tax (PAT) has consistently been above N1billion for the last 2-3 years with 0.157% of Non Performing Loan(NPLs) in the last 5 years with 2017 profit base being N2.25 billion.

Total E&P Nigeria Staff Multipurpose Cooperative Society is recognized as one of the most profitable and well managed financial institutions in Nigeria for providing quality service, ethics, professionalism, integrity, innovation and internationally accepted corporate governance standards. The cooperative is one of the profitable cooperatives in West Africa according to the Lagos State Chamber of Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives. The Cooperative was established to promote the economic interest of its members with an asset base of over N 45bn and a growing membership base of 1496 cooperators.

The Cooperative comprises of well-structured revenue departments which span across financial services & Treasury, Business Development and Real Estate. Financial Services & Treasury is the foundation on which the profitable cooperative brand in West Africa was built with its operations in Loans, investments and financial instruments. Business Development has invested in various profitable commercial ventures which include the Coop Mart, Coop Laundry, Coop Travels, Coop E-commerce, Coop Guesthouse, Coop Café, Coop Event Management, Coop Educational Service, Coop Lube Bay, Le Petite Marche, Coop supply, and procurement.

Total Living, the real estate department of the cooperative has embarked with state-of-the-art recreational facilities, smart living features and a view to envy. Total living is the real estate department of the cooperative responsible for the construction of La Definition, an ultra-modern state-of-the-art mixed-use development and the Logistics Base, a fully functional and equipped structure that provides warehouse facilities, accommodation, lube bay, fire station, police station, car park and office space to its potential customers.

In 2016 and 2017, The Cooperative was awarded for its outstanding contributions towards the development of Cooperative Societies in Lagos State by Lagos State. In 2018, the cooperative was awarded by CRASON; The Co-operative Rating &Award Society Of Nigeria with the following awards:

  1. Most Outstanding Cooperative Society Award
  2. Samaritan Helps Initiative/The Covenant Academy
  3. Cooperative society of the year (2018);
  4. CSR Award of the year;
  5. Most Outstanding Capital Project of the Year;
  6. Most Outstanding Host Organization Award for Total E&P Nigeria Ltd and
  7. Awards for the 7 Managers as the Best management team in the industry

Total Cooperative is uniquely positioned to be the market leader in the cooperative sector in Africa being the only cooperative in West Africa over 2 billion naira annually. The cooperative has dedicated 0.05% of its profit to serval CSR initiatives in Lagos and Port Harcourt.

You can find out more about the excellent work of this cooperative organisation here:

https://www.totalupstreamng.coop/